


Closer to the Stars

by cyavillain



Category: Naruto
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, I swear this is fluff, Kakashi and Obito are fine, Kinda, M/M, Zetsu gets the short end of the stick, they're getting on the right track, they're just lost on the road of life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-11 23:53:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20162203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyavillain/pseuds/cyavillain
Summary: Kakashi tilts his head to ask what comes next. All of a sudden, the air feels charged. It’s heavy with tension and unspoken questions.It just doesn’t feel right.Kakashi is smarter than this, Obito realizes, unable to resist gentleness and that ridiculous warmth.





	Closer to the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm doing a little experiment. A long story short, podfics have sparked my interest, and I've noticed that my stories tend to describe how the characters speak - that's something many podfics lack, so I challenged myself to write a bit differently. And yes, there's a gaming reference in the title. It's a weird one, so I thought it could be a nice little easter egg. Anyway, I hope that y'all enjoy the story!

Kabuto has made a huge mess, and now someone has to clean it up.

Obito glances at the moon. It’s almost full tonight, and it shines bright. The glow of the celestial body is beautiful even though the orb has become useless now that all the lies have been refuted. 

The outskirts of Konoha are surrounded by trees. The sound of rustling leaves covers all the other noises, protecting those who don’t want to be heard. That’s alright, though. The forest hates impostors. It goes silent each time a cheat walks by.

Obito sees some movement out of the corner of his eye. He approaches the treeline, and just like that, all the sounds are gone.

But of course. 

He’s fake too.

A big cloud mass passes over the moon. An ordinary eye wouldn’t see a damn thing, but the Sharingan is different. Obito is able to navigate his way through overgrown bushes quite easily. There’s a snap of a branch, and as Obito turns around, he’s standing face to face with Kakashi, fingers clenched around the bastard’s throat. 

“Yeah, sneak up from behind people, Bakashi,” Obito hisses, releasing his grip. He really hopes that if Rin is still watching him, she will brush this one off as a mere mistake. The list of irreversible fuck-ups is already long enough.

“In all fairness, I tried to catch your attention,” Kakashi says. He doesn’t seem too alarmed by the reaction. “Have you found anything?”

“Nothing,” Obito replies. “I mean, we shouldn’t be looking from the same spot, that’s kinda counterproductive, but that’s just me, though” he then adds, glaring at Kakashi. 

“Maa, a whole squad was sent west. The Fifth wants to find the intruder tonight,” Kakashi replies. 

“Wow, talk about crying over spilled milk,” Obito scoffs. It’s safe to assume that Zetsu has an impressive selection of new disguises. It creates clones that can take a form of any individual that it has touched, and that’s the problem. Konoha has wasted a lot of resources to get rid off the army of parasites. Custom-made daggers produced by the best fūinjutsu specialists and squads of Konoha’s elites aren’t going to achieve much, and no one says it. 

How could they see through the disguises when the Sharingan can’t? 

Kakashi hums, and the moon shines again. He takes a look of it before shifting his position by taking a short step forward. 

“I’m glad that you agreed to help, though,” he claims. “Konoha wouldn’t be able to exterminate those things without you.”

Obito clucks his tongue. 

“It’s my problem more than Konoha’s,” he points out. 

“But you came back,” Kakashi maintains. 

Obito doesn’t know what to say. Such sentimental shit is impossible to deal with. 

Kakashi is close, closer than he should be. He lifts up Obito’s mask to expose what’s underneath. Gentle brushes caress the old injuries, acknowledging and accepting them. 

Obito swallows hard. He leans into the touch like the fool he is. There’s something very raw and terrifying about the way Kakashi looks at him. The usual roughness in the steel-gray eye is gone and replaced by warmth. 

Utter warmth.

The mask is stolen away.

Kakashi smiles as Obito leans in some more. The space between them shrinks, and Obito reaches out for Kakashi’s hitai-ate, slowly uncovering the Sharingan. It’s funny how they’re watching the world through the same eyes even after almost two decades of estrangement.

Kakashi tilts his head to ask what comes next. All of a sudden, the air feels charged. It’s heavy with tension and unspoken questions.

It just doesn’t feel right.

Kakashi is smarter than this, Obito realizes, unable to resist gentleness and that ridiculous warmth.

The countdown towards a disillusionment has started.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Obito murmurs as he pulls Kakashi’s half-mask down. Moments later, their lips touch. It’s not a real kiss, but it’s sweet and soft, almost convincing. 

Almost.

“But we both want it, don’t we?” Kakashi asks when they part. That’s exactly the type of reaction one would expect from him. His insightful notions are cloaked in gibberish, and Obito is barely able to pretend that he is unimpressed.

“No, we don’t,” he says. He runs his hand down Kakashi’s neck, stopping at its base. “We really don’t.”

They _seriously_ don’t. 

“Are you absolutely sure about it?” Kakashi teases. Faint lines crinkle at the corners of his visible eye even though he isn’t smiling anymore.

“Pretty sure,” Obito replies. Kakashi’s breath tickles his skin, and it gets harder and harder to remember the facts.

They aren’t lovers, though. 

Obito slides his arms around Kakashi’s neck and pauses for a while. He knows that none of this acting matters, but their bodies meet in an embrace. Once again, the world is beginning to seem like the pitch-black hell that it has always been. Obito wonders if Kakashi, too, can see it. Their gazes collide momentarily.

“Someone is in a mysterious mood,” Kakashi concludes. He’s truly charming with his antics, Obito thinks, as he reaches for the kunai he’s hidden within the sleeve of his robe, ready to put an end to the play.

It’s time to see if Konoha’s fūinjutsu specialists are more than boasters.

Kakashi presses a tiny kiss on the corner of Obito’s mouth. He says all kinds of things that sound lovely and romantic.

Sadly, a healthy dose of realism doesn’t grand an immunity to lies, but it is what it is.

With the blade now between his fingers, Obito uses his free hand to grab a handful of Kakashi’s hair. He tugs it harshly, trying to ignore the moan that follows. 

The real deal wouldn’t want this. 

But there’s a lump in Obito’s throat, a big one.

He wants to fall for the fraud. 

“Look at me,” Obito breathes against Kakashi’s lips. He needs to be sure. “C’mon, look at me.”

Kakashi turns his gaze back to Obito. Their eyes meet, but Obito feels nothing and sees nothing.

“I might fall in love with you,” Kakashi confesses, and that’s the worst part so far. The original one could certainly put it that way.

Obito laughs a little. 

Soon it will be over, he reminds himself.

The army of these abominations will be smaller by a fraction, and that’s a plus. 

“Cute,” Obito retorts. “No, seriously, that’s such a pretty face. I just have an issue with stuff that’s easy to break,” and with that, he raises the kunai and thrusts it deep intothe impostor’s back. The blade sinks into its flesh, and the parasite lets out a distorted cry.

The effect is immediate. 

The natural pigment begins to fade from Kakashi’s skin. Pieces of flesh transform into a white substance with a chalky texture, and all the charm is gone. 

Some clones are easier to kill than the others. This one appears to be far from durable.

The last bits of Kakashi’s features are melting away like wax in heat. 

“Poor boy,” Zetsu says, “fell in love with an enemy,” Kakashi’s voice is still present.

But words are futile.

Obito rolls his eye.

“Yeah, keep talking,” he mutters. “You should be dead by now.”

The parasite still has Kakashi’s eyes, and even though it seems to be stuck, it is very alive. Obito bites his lip, barely able to resist the urge to look away. He takes a step back after accepting that Konoha’s new toys aren’t going to put the piece of trash out of its misery. 

“He won’t kiss you, you know. He’ll always oppose you,” more futile words are spoken with a mixture of two different voices. “How does that make you feel?”

Obito’s heart is pounding. He looks at the thing, witnessing how the last handsome characteristics dissolve into Zetsu’s grin. 

“Uninvolved. Let’s talk about you instead,” Obito changes the subject. It’s his turn to flash a toothy smile. “Now, are you fireproof?”

They will figure it out soon. 

Air fills Obito’s lungs as he prepares himself to attack. The familiar fire fills him, and when he finally exhales, a blaze bursts forth, bright and radiant.

The flames reach their target in no time. 

Dozens of sparks hit the ground, igniting the grass below, and a chorus of noises echoes in the night. There is crackling and sputtering, sizzling and snapping, and if one listens closely enough, a human-like voice emanates from the pyre, howling and groaning in agony.

Obito puts his hand over his mouth to refrain from inhaling the fumes. The thick smoke makes his eye sting, but he refuses to look away from the flaring humanoid torch until the fire has consumed everything and the impostor has turned into a pile of ash and goo. 

As the embers smolder, Obito sees a glimpse of himself from a distance. He takes a final look at the weakening fire before turning around and facing Kakashi. 

The real one.

The Sharingan has always connected them, but the link has gotten much stronger lately. Kakashi says that he sees almost everything through Obito, which is plausible ‘cause the poor bastard is dying to watch the world from another point of view. That’s how miserable he is.

“So, you got here after all,” Obito notes. “Did you bring tea and dumplings?”

“Maa, you should’ve told me that we were going to have a campfire before-hand,” Kakashi says. “I was quite far away when I saw you encountering my duplicate.”

“Don’t worry, it was a blast even without you,” Obito reassures. “I guess we’re done for tonight.”

“Seems like it,” Kakashi admits, glancing at the burning pile of whatever the hell the matter is. He furrows his brows and shakes his head. “Sometimes I wonder if those things feel pain.”

Innocence is amazing, and, apparently, found in people who should be pretty much free from it. 

“They kinda do,” Obito replies. He realizes that he’s touching his right arm. The artificial limb is always a bit numb and prickling but not immune to pressure and heat. “Just kinda,” Obito adds, but the damage is already done.

Kakashi nods without saying a word. His gaze goes back to the pile, and the steel-gray iris emulates the orange glow.

“So, what now?” Obito deliberately breaks the silence. The last thing this night needs is a bummed out quiet.

“We could walk for a while. Survey the area,” Kakashi suggests. He doesn’t have to say anything more.

Moments later, the orange glow is left behind. The moon illuminates the sky, casting shadows on the ground. Konoha’s silhouette grows larger as the distance decreases. A breeze blows through the air, and trees rustle somewhere afar. 

Obito feels weirdly normal for a while. 

“So, you’re going to report back to the village, right?” he asks, knowing that such questions might ruin the ordinary atmosphere. 

“I’m in no hurry,” Kakashi replies. “The Fifth wants me to prepare for a summit regarding the current truce agenda of the five villages.”

“That’s a mouthful,” Obito states. He tries his best not to acknowledge Kakashi’s pained expression. A shared short-term goal can’t make them allies. 

Kakashi sighs, and a knot twists in Obito’s stomach. 

“I shouldn’t be bothering you with this,” Kakashi mumbles. He has a fair point. Kinda.

“I don’t mind,” Obito says despite it. He may be a big fat liar, but Kakashi has a special place in his heart. Therefore he might as well get what Obito can offer in terms of empathy. It’s not much, but it will have to do. 

“Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice by staying,” Kakashi admits. “Konoha is falling apart from the inside.”

Obito hums. The village could burn for all he cares. He knows what Kakashi feels, though. They’re dreamers at their core. They want to see a better world without conflicts and suffering, but this pitch-black hell resists change. 

A wordless murmur isn’t going to console anyone. Kakashi glances at the sky. The moon looks bigger than it usually does. There’s something friendly about it – something forgiving.

“You’ve done a lot,” Obito maintains. He won’t tell that sometimes _much_ is far for from _enough_. “So, no need to wallow in self-pity.”

“You have a fair point,” Kakashi agrees. He’s avoiding Obito’s stare, which gets old pretty fast.

Something is off.

“What is it?” Obito demands. He doesn’t like the silence that follows because tonight has been pretty damn eventful. Guessing games aren’t going to improve the overall mood.

“I got to witness everything that went down,” Kakashi says. 

It makes sense, but Obito’s heart sinks. Sure, one could argue that this has been obvious from the start, but sometimes ignorance is bliss. 

And some conversations are better off not being had at all.

“I had to come up with a distraction, and that’s that,” Obito replies. It’s a reasonable explanation. Perhaps the said encounter has left some confusion in its wake because Kakashi frowns. There are zero reasons for that.

Zero.

“I see,” Kakashi asserts. He sounds like himself, nonchalant to the point of being apathetic, but his fingers curve, and for a mere moment, it seems like he’s fighting against the urge to clench his hands into fists. 

It’s not a significant gesture. Many pairs of eyes could miss it, but the signs are clear for the Sharingan. 

A stupid thought manifests. It’s so ridiculous that Obito can’t stop a muffled freak of a laugh from escaping. He feels a concerned glance thrown at him. That’s fair. The shinobi system has produced many madmen, but gigglers are rare. 

Explanations aren’t needed, but they can’t hurt anyone.

“It was weird, I’ll give you that,” Obito says. “But can you blame me?”

“Of course not. You had an opportunity to hide your intentions,” Kakashi concludes. He takes a deep breath like he’s regretting what he’s about to tell. 

“So, what’s the problem then?” Obito inquires. His mind is spiraling down into absurdities, and he can’t let that happen because big feelings are iffy at best. Besides, Kakashi is smart. He’s clever enough not to have them – and even if he wasn’t, these feelings can’t be mutual. 

“I see what you see,” Kakashi starts off with the obvious. He touches his hitai-ate without lifting it up. “Every day.”

Obito glimpses at Kakashi but dares not to respond. The whole ordeal will be insignificant tomorrow, so there’s no need to screw it up.

“I’m not much of a lip-reader, but I got a pretty good picture about what my replica wanted to say,” Kakashi continues after noticing that Obito’s contribution isn’t going to keep the conversation flowing. “I don’t think we’re opposing one another. That’s simply not accurate.”

“Thanks,” Obito mutters. He means it. Desperate enemies talk too much, so the trash that comes out of a mass-produced lowlife’s mouth isn’t to be taken wholeheartedly, but somehow hearing the exact same point from Kakashi is comforting. 

It’s dangerous to expect more than that. 

Obito isn’t in denial about the past, nor about what he has put Kakashi through. A couple of decades of lies and deceit are bound to leave a mark. Many crimes cannot be compensated. They both know it.

But they’ve stopped walking, and the wind has stopped with them. 

Once a new breeze blows, Konoha’s leaves rustle louder than before. Obito feels uncertainty when Kakashi gets closer. They’re standing face to face, letting their eyes meet. 

The steel-gray eye glimmers in the pale moonlight. There’s something soft and harsh about the way Kakashi looks at Obito. Maybe this déjà vu is just a glitch in reality. Time and space are fragile, and Obito has never relearned to trust in what is there, surrounding him. Sometimes he likes to think that there is a timeline where Rin never died – a timeline where bad luck gives people a frigging break every now and then. 

Obito takes a deep breath, closing his eye. He feels a light squeeze on his shoulder. It’s brief but evident, lingering long enough to be real. 

“What I’m trying to say is that things from your perspective seemed gloomier than usual,” Kakashi clarifies. He gives a light pat on Obito’s shoulder, and their foreheads touch lightly before they pull apart.

“Yeah, I feel you,” Obito answers. “You had to watch me killing you from my point of view – that sucks.” 

Kakashi hums without correcting the assumption. 

“Maa, kisses don’t always end up in a murder,” he states. 

“Right,” Obito says, having his doubts about this. He pulls himself together and glances at the moon, wondering if there’s still a chance for something better than what’s already out there. Yet the idea of another kind of life looks less accessible than ever before. 

Cynicism tends to get the better of everyone. It’s an eventuality. 

“It’s funny how much you forget over time, isn’t it?” Kakashi asks. He raises his head towards the sky, staring at a vague direction. “I can locate the constellations of Ite and Koto but that’s about it.”

“That’s plenty,” Obito utters. He shifts his gaze away from the moon and begins searching for the teapot-shaped pattern. It’s been quite a while ever since the last time he’s tried to find Ite in the sky. Many use the stars to navigate, but Obito hasn’t done it in years. There are other ways to reach a destination. 

But the moon isn’t the only celestial body to marvel at.

Why has it been so easy to forget that? 

“I always hated this stuff back in the Academy,” Obito mumbles. 

“I can picture that,” Kakashi scoffs gently. His fingertips tap the back of Obito’s left hand. The caress is barely perceptible through a thick leather glove. It’s a kind touch, though. “Some people are simply better at naming stars than learning their names.”

What happens next it absurd.

Warmth rushes to Obito’s cheeks as the comment sinks in, and the silly thoughts back. The worst part about being unmasked is to be so exposed. In the best-case scenario, the devastatingly mortifying blush doesn’t show, but Obito is pretty much out of luck. He forces out a laugh that resembles a hoarse groan and curses the parasite who stole his disguise, taking the mask to the afterlife.

“You know that you’re insufferable, don’t you?” Obito accuses as he turns to receive an impish smile. “And I bet that you’d name stars after your dogs.”

“Who knows,” Kakashi thinks aloud, “the sky is vast. Maybe there’s a world where I have done it.”

“Sounds like a lousy world,” Obito concludes. He doesn’t mention that it’s still a valid alternative, but Kakashi gets the implication.

“This one isn’t that hopeless,” he reminds. “We’re fixing it right now.”

And the fixing part is going horribly, Obito thinks. He hasn’t even cleaned up the mess that has been caused along the way, and that’s on him and him alone.

Hells, it is entirely possible that he’s the glitch in reality, existing in the timeline that isn’t supposed to be there at all. This theory is confirmed by the fact that Kakashi won’t withdraw when Obito leans towards him, slowly reaching for the half-mask.

And then… 

Then they kiss.

It goes against all common sense. Kakashi’s lips are soft and nice, they feel right. He wraps his arms around Obito and inhales into the kiss. They are entangled in a long, long embrace. What are the odds for that?

Obito holds onto the hug to be sure that it is happening, and Kakashi accepts it. He stays and brushes his fingers across Obito’s right cheek, wiping away a few tears. But those are only a few. 

Everything is tangible and substantial from soothing caresses to the breath that tickles Obito’s skin.

Kakashi never fades away, and that’s truly unnerving. He makes Obito think that this miserable plane of existence has a bit potential. Sure, it’s flawed and absurd, misshapen and imperfect, but that’s the pot calling the kettle black.

Obito knows he must be a lot, but Kakashi hasn’t let go even when their lips have separated.

“Such a crybaby,” Kakashi murmurs, cupping Obito’s cheek in his hand.

“Shut up,” Obito can’t deliver a witty comeback. He inhales Kakashi’s scent, reminding himself that this isn’t probably happening.

But the cosmic joke is that Kakashi stays until there are no more tears left, and that’s about as real as real gets. And despite _everything_, it is fine for a while.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Closer to the Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20976557) by [ohayohimawari](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohayohimawari/pseuds/ohayohimawari)


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